West Hants Historical Society

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West Hants Historical Society The WHHS is a top-notch genealogical research room and museum. April - July & Sept to Dec opened Wednesdays only 10:00 - 3:00. July to Sept 9:30 - 4:30 Wed - Sun

The West Hants Historical Society runs a seasonal Museum as well as a genealogy department that is open year-round. In addition, the society provides summer guide service at the Fort Edward Blockhouse. The WHHS is run almost entirely by volunteers. Although the WHHS receives a large portion of its funding through grants, it also supports itself through publishing, its research library and fundraising. The first meeting of the West Hants Historical Society was held on April 13th, 1973 in the Windsor Court House. Twenty five people attended and Roland E. Meuse was made the president. The Society became official on September 25th, 1973 when it was incorporated under the Societies Act of Nova Scotia. Its first accomplishment was a successful campaign to open the blockhouse at Fort Edward to the public. With the help of the Fort Edward Restoration Committee (an offshoot of the Historical Society) and Parks Canada, the blockhouse was opened officially on June 1, 1978. The oldest surviving structure of its kind in Canada, Fort Edward is a must-see in the Avon Valley.

09/28/2026

Please join us tomorrow, Saturday, September 26, at 2:00 pm for this interesting talk. In-person at 33 Ochterloney Street, Suite 100, Dartmouth or live-streamed for members.

Heritage Trust of Nova Scotia
BlueNose Institute Library & Archives
Nova Scotia Heritage Pulse
The Royal Nova Scotia Historical Society
The East Hants Historical Society
West Hants Historical Society
Colchester Historeum Museum & Archives
Halifax Public Libraries
Nova Scotia Archives
Council of Nova Scotia Archives
Association of Nova Scotia Museums

The Phillip DeVenney family has given WHHS the following books, "The Loggers" and "The Changing Years.". You can purcha...
09/26/2026

The Phillip DeVenney family has given WHHS the following books, "The Loggers" and "The Changing Years.". You can purchase them from our on-line store. Thanks to the DeVenney family for all your support. westhantshistoricalsociety.ca/shop

Do you like local history? Looking for a group of volunteers who would like to meet one morning a week to help with our ...
09/23/2026

Do you like local history? Looking for a group of volunteers who would like to meet one morning a week to help with our large collection of obituaries. Together, you would check for duplicates, record and index our holdings.
Email [email protected] or call for more

129 years ago, on September 20th, 1897, Henry G. Hoyt died in Windsor. Who was Henry? From what we know he was probabl...
09/21/2026

129 years ago, on September 20th, 1897, Henry G. Hoyt died in Windsor. Who was Henry? From what we know he was probably quite the storyteller, or at least heard many stories at his barber shop.
Read more about Henry on our blog.
https://westhantshistoricalsociety.ca/henry-g-hoyt/ .

09/20/2026

September is Volunteer month in West Hants!

Each day, during the month of September we announce another 2026 Volunteer Award recipient. Today we celebrate Juanita Giles.

When Juanita stepped in as the Digital Architect for the West Hants Historical Society (WHHS), she digitized and uploaded the entire WHHS bookstore catalogue and revitalized the webpage. With this work, she modernized the entire operation which benefited researchers, near and far. Beyond her technical skills, Juanita has been a cornerstone of daily operations by supervising summer staff, volunteers, managing memberships, website management and serving on the Pesikitk Cultural Heritage Centre - Communications Committee.

Juanita also has a vision of what the Old Parish Burying Ground Project can be, which demonstrates her commitment to preserving the area’s history. She works collaborate, as the WHHS representative, with West Hants Regional Municipality to support the restoration project. This project ensures that resting places are treated with dignity and preserved as an educational resource.

Juanita also lead the complex challenge of transitioning the Windsor Curling Club into a formal society. To do so, she partnered with MLA Melissa Sheehy Richard to navigate provincial legislative and the passage of Bill 30, a private Members Bill. The result is a curling club which can support the community in ways that was previously not available.

Juanita Giles does not just volunteer, she leads, innovates and connects. She is a wonderful example of community spirit. Juanita, thank you for your passion, hard work and dedication to our community.

Volunteer Nova Scotia
West Hants Historical Society
Windsor Curling Club - Nova Scotia

Fall genealogy projects have begun! Lots of book orders this week ready to go! From Herring Cove, Nova Scotia to Sacra...
09/18/2026

Fall genealogy projects have begun! Lots of book orders this week ready to go! From Herring Cove, Nova Scotia to Sacramento, California.

This is a West Hants Historical Minute, a new biweekly posting that will showcase an interesting part of local history!D...
09/02/2026

This is a West Hants Historical Minute, a new biweekly posting that will showcase an interesting part of local history!

Did you know that the Acadians, who were French, were one of the first settlers of the Pisiquid area in 1684, which is now known as Windsor. Before that, they settled in Port Royal, where they created alliances with the Mi'kmaq. The Acadians became friendly and traded with the Mi’kmaq. Although the Acadians had occupied the region for some time, ongoing rivalries, border disputes and intrigues between the French and English governments led to the period of guerilla warfare. This accumulated in 1755 in the infamous expulsion of the Acadians from the territory. Many were shipped off to the other New England colonies. Those from the Pisiquid district were deported to the Maryland Colony. The British then set about in 1760 settling the vacated rich farmland with the New England Planters as the English wanted their own Anglophone, Protestant settlers.

A peace treaty was signed in 1763 allowing Acadians to return, although most could not return to their ancestral homes because they had been granted to English settlers. A handful of Acadian place names remain today, adopted by the English and passed down through generations.

This has been the West Hants Historical minute. Discover more amazing stories by visiting the West Hants Historical Museum on King Street. (Picture source: West Hants Historical Society Collection "The Acadians, Repairing a D**e, Belleisle, NS Circa 1720 and Parks Canada https://parks.canada.ca/lhn-nhs/ns/melanson/culture/2-emplacement-places)

Address

281 King Street PO Box 2335
Windsor, NS
B0N2T0

Telephone

+19027984706

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